Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

Road trip stories: New York’s solution to texting & driving July 29, 2016

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:01 AM
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Text stop sign in New York

Posted along Interstate 90 in upstate New York.

WE COULD LEARN A THING or two from New York State about efforts to reduce/eliminate texting while driving.

On a recent road trip from Minnesota to the East Coast, I noticed signs along Interstate 90 in New York advising motorists, “It can wait… Text stop parking area 1 mile/5 miles.”

Brilliant. Instead of simply complaining and admonishing, New York State is offering a solution—a place for motorists to pull off thruways and state highways specifically to text. And, yes, motorists were using those no amenities text stop parking areas.

Additionally, New York state law bans drivers from using a hand-held mobile telephone or portable electronic device while driving. The state is even considering implementing use of a Textalyzer, a roadside test to check cell phone usage.

In Minnesota, drivers 18 and older can talk on their cell phones while driving. But no driver can legally text.

Texting while driving in Wisconsin

When the ION stopped in front of our van for road construction, I photographed it and wrote down the license plate number. (And, yes, I cropped the full license plate from this image.)

In neighboring Wisconsin, drivers also cannot text while driving. But that doesn’t stop some. Last Friday afternoon my husband and I watched a silver ION weave on Wisconsin Highway 21 about 20 miles east of Tomah. The driver’s behavior was so dangerous that we stayed a safe distance behind as his car crossed multiple times into the oncoming lane and then back toward the shoulder. And not just barely over the center line, but significantly over. Not until we were stopped by road work did we get close enough to the ION for me to photograph the car and to observe the driver’s head down in texting position. I was prepared to call 911, but we had no cell coverage in this area near the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge.  Later, when we pulled off the highway into Necedah behind the ION driver, I saw him parked and texting. I wanted to stop, rap on his window and ask him what was so important that he had to endanger other motorists by texting while driving on a very busy Wisconsin state highway.

Laws are only as good as their enforcement. Therein lies part of the problem. With limited resources, cops can’t possibly be everywhere. So maybe New York is on to something. Offer an option to texting while driving other than “Don’t text. It’s the law.”

Thoughts?

© Copyright 2016 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

A note about distracted drivers April 2, 2013

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 7:11 AM
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Red means STOP, people.

Red means STOP.

DEAREST GUARDIAN ANGEL,

My apologies for the delay in sending this thank you note. But sometimes it takes awhile for these things to sink in, to understand the gravity of the situation and what may have been.

For me, it was my husband stating, “He could have taken any one of us out.”

That comment slapped me like a sub-zero January morning. Rarely does Randy express such a strong opinion.

But he was right to assess just how bad this could have been—had I not glimpsed the white pick-up truck from the corner of my eye and yelled for my husband to stop, just as our 1995 Chrysler Concorde entered the intersection.

They always say it happens in an instant. How true. The glimpse of white. The realization that the truck was not slowing to stop for the red light on the four-lane. The thought formulating into words. The warning spewed from my lips. The foot to brake. The truck whizzing past, never slowing. The driver, totally clueless.

You, dearest angel, I am convinced, were hovering at Minnesota Highways 60 and 21, one of the busiest intersections in Faribault, around 10:30 p.m. Thursday. There is no other explanation. I could easily have been looking the other way, not spoken soon enough. My husband could have delayed his reaction.

Had Randy not stopped when he did, the truck would have t-boned our car, a direct hit to the driver’s side. I don’t even want to think about the serious injuries that would have been inflicted upon my loved ones, including our 19-year-old son sitting behind his dad and just home from Fargo for Easter.

I do not go through life unnecessarily pondering the “what ifs.” But sometimes particular events stick with you for a few days as reminders of how life truly can change, just like that. I suppose this incident lingers even more given my future son-in-law’s car was totaled by a red light runner in St. Paul several months ago.

My family’s near-collision Thursday evening was reinforced two days later by two drivers, both distracted by cell phones, who pulled out in front of us. One driver stopped just in time. The other, a woman in a van, head bent either texting or dialing, paused at a stop sign and drove straight into our path, not even noticing our approaching van.

To be honest, it scares the hell out of me sometimes how distracted and clueless many drivers are today.

My apologies, dear guardian angel, for referencing my concern with that overused phrase. But sometimes even writers struggle to define stupidity.

Gratefully,
Audrey

© Copyright 2013 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

I cave in to technology November 17, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 10:41 AM
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I GOT A NEW CELL PHONE 2 ½ weeks ago. Big deal, you say.

Well, if you’re me, this is a big deal. You see, up until Halloween, I did not own a cell phone.

I know, I know, that is difficult to believe. But I have, for years, resisted getting a cell phone. I told myself I really didn’t need one and couldn’t justify the added monthly expense.

Then my second-born handed over her cell phone before leaving for a six-month stay in Argentina. I got used to having the darned thing. When she returned to the United States and I had to give her phone back, I kind of missed it. Yet, I didn’t cave in and get my own phone.

But then she went to Argentina again and, before leaving, handed over her cell phone for the second time. That did it. Upon her return in October, I got a cell phone and so did my husband and our 16-year-old son. Our two daughters upgraded.

I still cannot believe that we (I) did this. Me, the last hold-out in modern civilization now owns a cell phone with a slide-out keyboard. And I am texting, yes, texting.

 

 

My new, very own, fancy schmancy cell phone with slide-out keyboard.

 

Initially I balked at the very idea of texting. Why would I want to text? How could I possibly tap out a message with my thumbs on such a small keyboard? I am. (It doesn’t work to use your index finger; I tried that.)

I won’t win any texting contests. I’m slow. And the writer in me struggles with the language of texting—the abbreviations, lack of proper punctuation and capitalization.

But…I’m adapting. I type “u” for “you.” I punch “r” for “are.” It is sad and pathetic and I feel almost like a traitor to the English language. I wonder if someday while writing a story, I’ll write like I’m texting.

That brings up an interesting point. How will this style of communication affect today’s younger generation? Will they know how to spell? Will they be able to write complete and properly punctuated sentences?

Will they know how to communicate face-to-face?

I am sounding like an old-timer here. I realize that. But when I consider advances in my lifetime, technology marks the biggest change. I grew up in a house that, for the longest time, did not have a telephone. When my parents finally got one, we were on a party line and answered our number—2074—to two long rings.

During my freshman and sophomore years of college, the one phone in my dorm was four floors down and shared by everyone.

I remember when I thought getting a cordless phone was a big deal. I still have that free-range phone and my corded landline.

How many phones does one woman need? Do I really, truly, need a cell phone? I still struggle with justifying the expense.

That is me, though. I’ve always been frugal and slow to embrace technology and change. I wasn’t the first in line to buy a microwave, a computer, a VCR or…fill in the blank. My television is a freebie garage sale 1990s vintage set. It works just fine, thank you, unless the weather is humid or windy. (Yes, I rely on an antenna for reception.)

Now I have this cell phone. I suppose eventually I will want to upgrade to internet capabilities. But first I need to learn how to check my voicemail, take photos…

WHAT’S YOUR TAKE on cell phones and how they impact our lives? What are positives and negatives? Share your thoughts in a comment to Minnesota Prairie Roots. I’d like to hear.

If you wish to congratulate me on my cell phone acquisition, feel free to do so. You won’t be the first, though, to do so.

© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling